Ramban, Feb 7: Vehicular traffic, after having remained suspended for 24 hours for necessary repairs and maintenance works, on Srinagar Jammu National Highway was restored on Wednesday morning.
Traffic authorities said that vehicular traffic was restored at 8 am this morning. However, they said, its pace remained slow due to a one-way lane at Dalwass.
They further said that due to the huge rush of Srinagar-bound Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs), slow traffic movement was witnessed on both sides of Dalwass on the Srinagar Jammu National Highway.
The officials advised commuters and vehicle operators to avoid overtaking and to follow lane discipline while travelling on National Highway 44 between Nashri and Banihal sector.
Earlier on Tuesday, vehicular traffic on both sides of the Srinagar Jammu National Highway was suspended for 24 hours up to 8 am on Wednesday between Nashri and Banihal in Ramban district, on the directions of authorities for repairs and maintenance of the road at Dalwass and at Kishtwari Pather-Sherbibi.
Officials said that the National Highway-44 had suffered damages at various places including Dalwass and Kishtwari-Pather-Sherbibi, due to rain and snow last week.
Traffic authorities said that the highway was reopened after the companies engaged by NHAI completed the scheduled repair and maintenance works at Dalwass, Kishtwari Pather-Sherbibi and various other places between Nashri and Banihal this morning.
They said that after clearing stranded traffic between Banihal and Nashri, hundreds of LMVs and heavy vehicles, including oil and LPG tankers, were allowed to ply on the highway.
The officials monitoring the regulation of traffic in Ramban said, “The highway was open for both sides of traffic and vehicles were crossing the Nashri-Banihal stretch of the National Highway without any disruption.”
The commuters and drivers, however, complained that they remained stuck in long queues for long intervals due to a single-lane road stretch at Dalwass and a few other narrow road stretches between Nashri and Banihal.
They said they remained stuck on both sides of the Chenani-Nashri tunnel due to a single-lane road stretch at Dalwass, Mehar Cafeteria Morh in Ramban where only one vehicle could pass at a time.
The officials at Traffic Control Unit Ramban, while confirming the status of the highway Wednesday evening, said, “Srinagar Jammu National Highway is open for traffic. However, the commuters and vehicle operators are advised to confirm the status of the road from Traffic Control Units Srinagar, Jammu, Udhampur before undertaking journeys on NH-44 on Thursday morning.”